Archive for February, 2009

How GreenSmoothieGirl.com was born–it’s a crazy story!

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Welcome to GreenSmoothieGirl.com!

I put this site up in August, 2007 when I went on a reality show and ABC/Disney told me I’d better prepare for an onslaught of publicity and requests for information.

My family eats a rather unusual diet that has led to exceptionally good health.  People notice because we buck American trends, and it shows.

I frequently have people who know about our diet show up on my porch, call on my phone, and stop me in public.  People are sick, they are overweight, they lack the energy to get through the day . . . and they want help.  They have lots of questions.  My experience as a nutrition educator has led me to this conclusion: People want to eat right. They just don’t know how.

The reality television experience was just the impetus I needed to make information about my family’s lifestyle more accessible to more people.

Little did I know what GreenSmoothieGirl.com would become!

A year and a half later, I have a small group of people working on the site, have written two books, and we are getting 80,000+ visitors monthly.  I take my responsibility to teach people how and why to eat whole foods very seriously and am willing to do whatever it takes.

This newsletter is my first-line effort to educate a terrifyingly underinformed public about basic principles of good nutrition, as well as, very specifically, how to live a healthy lifestyle.

I’ve had a wide and varied career. But besides being a mom, I’ve never done anything I feel is as important as my role teaching, helping, and nurturing people towards good health.

Today, a woman stopped me at the grocery store.  She said, “I have been seeking answers to my health problems.  I saw your car and the web site burned into my mind.  I’ve spent three hours reading your site, so far, and trying some things you suggest, and I’m amazed how when I eat right, I don’t crave bad stuff!”

That’s the beautiful thing about whole foods.  They are what God put on the planet to nourish us.  When we eat them, we don’t need anything else.  We get off the roller coaster of craving bad food and succumbing to the temptation and then hating ourselves for our indulgences.  GreenSmoothieGirl.com is the summation of my 15 years of studying exactly how to implement good nutrition in a real American family’s diet.

When we eat whole foods instead of the Standard American Diet, we have the boundless energy to not just dream big, but also fulfill those dreams.

In future newsletters, I’m going to tell you a little more about my story and introduce you to some fun parts of my site.

Thanks for joining me—I’m thrilled to have you along.

To Your Health,

–Robyn Openshaw

p.s.  Hope you’re enjoying your free 12 Nutrition Myths Special Report.  Are you shocked at how many things you’ve taken as “gospel truth” are really, at best, uninformed misinformation, or at worst, agenda-driven lies?  I have a lot to share with you!

Storing green smoothies: BPA in plastics [part 1 of 2]

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Dear Green SmoothieGirl: What should I store my green smoothie in?   I’ve read that certain chemicals in bottled water and other plastic items leach into my food.

Answer:   A government study by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) in Washington, D.C. recently uncovered a surprising (and unnerving) finding.   The plastic lining used by manufacturers of metal food cans have more bisphenol-A (BPA) than plastic containers do.   BPA is an endocrine-disrupting chemical that is linked by research to breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, and neurological problems for babies exposed in utero, among other things.   Cans that test to have the highest BPA levels are chicken soup, infant formula, and canned pastas.   And, the FDA says the average American eats about 17 percent canned foods.   The longer a can sits on the shelf, the more leaching occurs in the food.   And when a container is heated, more chemical is released into the food as well.

What can we do about this?

I believe that eventually the BPA will be removed from cans.   But in the meantime, the first tip is that Eden Foods, a maker of organic items found mostly in health food stores, has BPA-free cans, if you can afford a pricier product.

Second, we can make more of our own food (like soups and beans) and keep cans around for only food storage and emergencies.   Cook the beans you use a lot and freeze them in 2-cup amounts for later use.   Some foods you buy in cans can be purchased in glass jars (spaghetti sauce, for instance).

Third, store your green smoothies in glass pint or quart jars.   I have always done this.   The downside is that if you drop it, glass shatters.   It’s not as convenient as some drink containers for taking in the car and putting in the car’s drink holder, either.   You can obtain stainless steel containers, too.   With either of those options, you will have no chemicals leaching into your food.   And keep in mind that the best way to keep your body removing toxins like BPA from sources we just can’t control is . . . to drink green smoothies.   The insoluble plant fiber in greens mops up several times its own weight in toxins and removes it from the body.

Fourth, you can google “BPA free” and buy baby bottles and other items free of toxic synthetics.  

More tomorrow about what to store green smoothies in, plastics, and the Sheryl Crow email.

 

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